posted
I have dealt with lyme for about 6 years and have just fought through the worst days and actually been very succesful as a chef
The thing that worries me the most is that I might one day have to quit working and not be able to support my 2 kids
My wife works and i would be able to be on her insurance but LTD only covers 60% of salary.
Has anyone else had to quit there jobs as a result of there lyme and how bad did it get before they considered quitting
And what is it like now and how did you go about geting the disability?
I have a pretty demanding high stress job and some days my babs is bad its REALLY bad:(
Posts: 40 | From AZ | Registered: Oct 2006
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Michelle M
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7200
posted
Hello, Chef.
Whip us up something, willya? Preferably something with a LOT of carbs, maybe garlic and cream sauce.
Okay, JUST KIDDING.
Struggling with work is really tough. I did that until last fall.
Are you in treatment? GOOD treatment? If it's babesia you're struggling the most with, are you treating it? Things SHOULD get better at some point, if so.
Can you take a medical leave to get better?
Many of us have no significant other and somehow struggle through the process anyway. It can be bleak!! If you apply for SSDI, get all your ducks in a row first - i.e., strong doctor support, all tests which SSDI will make you go do, etc.
In California you can take up to a year of State Disability (temporary) in order to try and recover. This is different than SSDI. Don't know your state's rules.
I hope things work out for you. Stress is not helping for certain. Remember that you might not be able to get an entire, organized "plan" worked out -- lyme has away of wreaking havoc on plans!
Michelle
Posts: 3193 | From Northern California | Registered: Apr 2005
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Geneal
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10375
posted
Good for you to be struggling through as best as you can for your family.
What a dedicated husband and father you must be.
I lost my job due to Hurricane Katrina.
I haven't been able to look for a job due to circumstances related to this.
However, I must state for the record that I would not make the
Best Speech Pathologist at this time of my life.
Inability to find words, losing my train of thought in the middle of a sentence,
Some ongoing memory issues....there's more symptoms that ethically
Prevent me from working at this time.
I am also dealing with babesia. Right in the middle of herx right now.
My neighbor's Dad just tested CDC positive for Lyme.
He has one year left to retire.
He is having a pretty bad neuro herx.
He is considering a short term leave while he is feeling this poorly.
He also has LTD. He said he may use that too if he needs to.
Hope you get to feeling better soon.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posts: 6250 | From Louisiana | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
I lost alot of work with lyme- I'm a pianist and teacher, and I was so tired I couldn't get anything done, and had a hard time keeping things in order. I couldn't help carry any of the stuff- keyboards are still pretty heavy, though not like they were back in the old days; that definitely made it hard. So I ended up not playing much, which made things even harder- the classic recursive downward spiral. But I fought! I found out about lyme, and helped people every way I could. I never gave up, and still don't plan on ever giving up! There is too much to do, too much too help with, too many pieces to write, too many birds to see, and too many mushrooms to find. Pain and suffering is inevitable, but we can minimize it by taking the right actions at the right time. Did you by any chance hear about any programs put out by drug manufacturers? Roche used to have a special program for people who couldn't afford their drugs ('rocefin' brand of ceftriaxone was one, often prescribed for Lyme (i.v.)). But I don't know if that's being continued, now that the patent has expired. If you've become unemployed as a result of your illness, you should be able to get food stamps. ...'Medicaid' may be possible, but will probably not help, since I don't think you can choose your own doc when you're on medicaid.
Good luck! Sincerely, DaveS
Posts: 4567 | From ithaca, NY, usa | Registered: Nov 2000
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posted
I am off work for almost 5 months now. I dont want to be off but the pain, mobility issue and memory issues wont allow me to work.
I just today started iv.
I think you should work if you can but if it become impossible, you should listen to your body.
Posts: 347 | From WV | Registered: Jan 2007
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